zazza

I wieght 125 This is what they submitted to insurance company rebetron 600 600-3/05 ml kit  and 150  .5  ml peb intron. thank you for answering this maybe you can help I am geno type 1a, 0-1 stage with viral load of 500,000

thank you

[zazza]

Rebetron seems to be an (older?) brand name for combination therapy of interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin. I am uncertain of the way your dosing has been expressed to your insurance company, but this is how I would calculate the dosing you need.

125 lbs = 57 kg

57 x 13 mg ribavirin = 741 mg ribavirin
57 x 15 mg ribavirin = 855 mg ribavirin

This calculation shows that you need at least 800 mg ribavirin per day, divided in one morning and one evening dose of 400 mg each. This gives you a dose of 14 mg ribavarin per kilo, which is a good dose.

Your doctor might even prescribe 1000 mg ribavirin to you, since many times everyone at or below 75 kg gets this dosage. It depends on what brand of ribavirin you are getting.

57 x 1.5 mcg pegylated interferon alfa-2b = 85.5 mcg pegylated interferon alfa-2b

The interferon I have is called PegIntron and is delivered at strengths of either 50 mcg per 0.5 mL, 80 mcg per 0.5 mL, 120 mcg per 0.5 mL, or 150 mcg per 0.5 mL. (The 0.5 ml is the amount of sterile fluid included in the PegIntron Readipen.)

Weighing below 60 kg, you would most likely have been prescribed 80 mcg PegIntron.

So: 800 mg ribavirin daily and 80 mcg pegylated interferon alfa-2b weekly seems to be SOC (standard of care) for you.

Are the numbers in your post above the numbers from the communication with your insurance company or are they actually the prescription from your doctor? Could the insurance company have approved maximum dose as a one-size-fits-all approval, and then your doctor will prescribe you the correct dosing later on? This would explain "150 .5 ml peb intron". But, very important: this assumes that "rebetron 600 600" means 600 mg ribavirin twice daily.

You have to make sure that you get no less than 800 mg ribavirin daily! This is usually the lowest SOC, so it should not be a problem. But check it out, one cannot be too careful. There are too many mistakes done when dosing meds for hepatitis C.

Also, make sure you are getting pegylated interferon, not just interferon. Pegylated means that one shot lasts an entire week.

If anybody knows more about Rebetron, please chime in.

Zazza

[RALPH44]

Sorry it was Peg intron rebetron 600 600-3/05 ml kit  and 150  .5  ml and 150  .5  ml Peg intron that is exactly what they sent to the insurance company. I was talking to my sister she said at least 800 of rebetol aday.

thanks

[zazza]

Happy to hear you checked the ribavirin dose with your nurse. Better safe than sorry!